HOW TO TURN OFF SNAPCHAT’S STALKERISH SNAP MAP FEATURE

The Wired
ELIZABETH STINSON

SNAPCHAT HAS ALWAYS known exactly where you are. What, you thought everyone saw that “Greetings from the Brooklyn Bridge” filter? Until recently, Snapchat didn’t do much with your location data beyond serving up geofilters and pushing location-specific stories. Sure, the app uses your whereabouts to help marketers sell you stuff, but what social media behemoth doesn’t?

This week, though, Snapchat unveiled a feature that leverages your location data in a whole new way, and it’s got a lot of people freaked out. Snap Map tracks your current location and places your Bitmoji avatar on a map like a pin. Others can zoom in and find exactly where you are, down to the street address. It’s sort of like Apple’s Find My Friends and Facebook’s Live Location feature—only, you know, on Snapchat.

Obviously, Snapchat sees Snap Map as a fun and convenient way to connect with friends. But for plenty of people, the new feature is just plain creepy. Some worry about the “stalker factor,” particularly for Snapchat’s younger users who might not fully grasp the implications of a technology that constantly broadcasts their location.